“That was my primary concern too,” said Lori, glancing down at the proposition.
“Lori, if I may be so bold,” continued the younger man. “May I suggest an alternative location?”
“Go for it,” Lori encouraged, warming to his easy Southern charm.
“There’s a property for sale near Cave City, Kentucky. It’s set in a few acres. There’s an access road off Route 65. Studio. Six-bedroom farmhouse. Potential to develop two existing barns into rehearsal space. There’s a stable block that could be converted into flexible sized storage units. It’s also half the price.”
“Interesting,” mused Lori, looking thoughtful. “Prepare a counter-proposal to put to Jason and Dr Marrs by Monday. You might want to look at the Atlanta area too or further south into Florida. In principle, I’m in favour of expanding JJL but I’m not sold on Nashville as the place to expand into. Doesn’t feel like the right fit for us.”
“Consider it done.”
“Thanks, Townes,” she replied with a smile.
“How long are you in town for, my dear?” quizzed David casually. “Do you want Townes to courier the paperwork over here on Monday?”
Lori shook her head, “Email it to me, please. I’m driving home on Sunday. Melody has to be back for school on Monday. I already took her out for two days. She needs to get back into her routine.”
“Speaking of Miss Melody,” began David. “Where is my favourite surrogate granddaughter?”
“Go on through to the lounge,” Lori suggested. “I think we’re about done here anyway.”
Almost an hour later, David and Townes prepared to leave. Much to Lori’s amusement, Townes had proved to be good with kids and had soon been sitting on the rug beside Jesse helping him with the construction of his train tracks. It wasn’t like the little boy to warm to a stranger so quickly and Lori took it as a good omen.
“How was the latest Silver Lake design received?” asked David as Lori walked them both towards the front door.
“Very well by all accounts. I got a text from Grey last night. Maddy emailed to request some changes to the merchandise ideas and to request two different backdrops rather than one.”
“Usual terms?” checked David.
Lori nodded, “Same deal as usual. They’re family.”
“I’ll get the invoices prepared.”
“Thanks,” she said warmly. “Townes, you’ll need to come down to the beach house sometime. Come out to JJL too.”
“I’d like that.”
“I think our next quarterly meeting will need to be held down there or done via Skype. I’m not planning on travelling too far from home after New Year,” she explained, rubbing her baby bump.
“That’s understandable. If you don’t mind me asking, when is the baby due?” asked Townes with a gentle curiosity. “You’re looking fabulously healthy.”
“Spring. Early April,” revealed Lori, feeling her cheeks flush at his compliment.
“Come on, charming,” teased David. “We’ve an eleven o’clock with audit.”
“See you both soon,” promised Lori as they headed towards the waiting elevator.
Standing in front of her wardrobe for the second time in as many days, Lori was deliberating what to wear to Garrett’s album launch when her cell rang. Maddy’s number lit up the screen.
“Hi,” greeted Lori brightly, still casually browsing her limited clothing options.
“Morning!” called Maddy shrilly. “Just checking you’re still coming tonight?”
“I’ll be there,” promised Lori, lifting down a black tunic with a split back.
“What time?”
“I’ll sneak in about seven-thirty or eight,” replied Lori, her stomach already in knots at the thought of seeing Jake.
“You are going to talk to Jake, aren’t you?”
“Afterwards,” promised Lori quietly. “I don’t want anything to spoil Garrett’s night. He must be a nervous wreck about this show. How Jethro talked him into it I’ll never know!”
“That silver-tongued devil could talk anyone into anything,” laughed Maddy.
“Will I have any issues getting in?” checked Lori, suddenly realising that she had neither a ticket nor an access pass to gain entry to the theatre.
“None,” assured Maddison. “I’ve just sent your laminate over to you with a courier.”
“Thanks.”
“I’d better run,” said her friend. “I promised the meatballs I’d take them to lunch then I need to be at the Gramercy for one thirty.”
“I’ll see you later,” promised Lori. “I’m taking Melody to the American Girl store in an hour. Annie’s taking Jesse somewhere on the subway.”
“Just pray she doesn’t take him to the nearest casino,” joked Maddy, visualising Annie and Jesse at a poker table.
“That does not bear thinking about!”
Stepping out onto the theatre’s stage for soundcheck, Jake felt his nerves begin to build. Both Grey and Paul had arrived earlier to help out on bass and drums. Rehearsal time had been cut short and so far, they’d only managed to run through the songs they were to guest on once. Smiling, Jake noticed that Riley was meandering through the rows of empty seats. The young vocalist looked positively terrified as she ran her hand along the red seatbacks.
“Miss Riley!” he called, his voice echoing out into the auditorium. “Get up here!”
As she ran up the stairs at the side of the stage, he saw that she was on the verge of tears.
“This is really happening,” stated Riley, her voice barely more than a whisper. “In a few hours, all of those seats will be filled. I’ll be on this stage. I’ll be performing on this stage!”
“You’d better believe it, Miss Riley,” said Jake warmly. “Have you warmed up for soundcheck?”
Riley nodded, “I want to run through Black Heart again. Think we’ll have time?”
“We’ll make time,” said Garrett, stepping out beside them. “Shit, this place is bigger than I remembered.”
“You’ll be fine,” said Jake, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. “Let’s get this party started. Remember I’m pulling double duty here. I’ve two soundchecks to get through.”
“And I appreciate it,” replied Garrett sincerely. “Riley, why don’t we start with Black Heart. Help settle your nerves.”
“Thanks, that would help.”
Despite a few technical challenges, they made their way through the planned soundcheck. Both Jake and Riley were afforded plenty of time to run through the vocals that they wanted to focus on. Gremlins struck again as Paul worked with the unfamiliar drum kit. He was having kick pedal issues but Garrett interjected saying he’d get a replacement brought up from the music store.
With everyone finally happy with the setup, Garrett and the others left Jake to complete his own soundcheck for his solo support slot. Carefully, he set up his own guitars on the stage, choosing to use the borrowed Martin alongside his beloved acoustic, the vintage Gibson he’d bought from Mike and his much loved 1930’s National.
“You planning on playing a full set?” quizzed Grey, appearing on stage beside him.
“No fucking way!” laughed Jake. “Ten songs plus a duet. That’s more than enough.”
“Why so many ladies then?”
“No guitar tech. I’ve set them all up differently, I just need to remember who is tuned to what,” explained Jake, casting his eyes over his array of guitars.
“You realise that Todd’s coming tonight?”
Jake nodded, “But he’s one of us now. I need to find a replacement for him.”
“He’ll help you out if you need him to and you know it. Have you spoken to him about becoming one of us?”
“Not yet. Later. Tomorrow maybe. I know he’d bail me out tonight but I’m not planning on asking him. I’ve got this,” said Jake calmly. “Have you heard from Lori? Is she coming?”
“Maddison spoke to her this morning.”
“And?”
“And she’ll
be here,” said Grey calmly. “Just don’t go expecting too much.”
“I just want to see her,” whispered Jake, gently picking out a familiar melody on the Martin.
“Don’t fuck this up,” cautioned Silver Lake’s bass player bluntly. “These past few months have been tough on both of you. Be gentle with her, Jake.”
“She’s my Lady Butterfly. I’ll be gentle. I just want another chance. Want my wife and my family back.”
“I know, buddy. I know.”
Almost as if they sensed that their mother had to be somewhere for a specific time, both kids began to play up during dinner. They’d all enjoyed a great afternoon and had met up for dinner at five o’clock back at the apartment. While Lori and Melody had spent a mother/daughter afternoon at the American Girl store, Annie and Jesse had explored Manhattan’s subway, getting off down at South Ferry to take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. The plan had been to have pizza for dinner then to leave Annie with the kids and a pile of Disney DVDs for a movie night. Like the best-laid plans, it went awry not long after the pizza arrived with Jesse managing to spill an entire chocolate milkshake all over the Oriental rug in the lounge. While Annie rushed to fetch a cloth, Melody dripped oily tomato sauce from her slice of pizza on her new American Girl t-shirt. Within seconds, both kids were sobbing hysterically.
Taking a deep breath, Lori led Melody downstairs to get changed into her pjs then took the stained top to the laundry room to soak it, praying that the stain would come out. In the lounge, Grey’s mom wasn’t having much success at getting the chocolate stain out of the rug.
Trying not to let her exasperation show, Lori said, “Just leave it for now, Annie. Thanks for trying but I’ll arrange to get it professionally cleaned next week.”
“But your gorgeous rug!” protested the older woman.
“It’s fine,” assured Lori, hoping she sounded calmer than she felt. “It’ll come clean I’m sure. Let’s just eat the rest of the pizza before it’s stone cold.”
“Mommy,” sniffed Melody, snuggling in beside her. “Will you stay and watch a movie with us?”
“Angel, I’m meeting Maddy. I need to get ready.”
“She can wait,” said the little girl, still sniffing back tears. “I want to watch The Little Mermaid with you.”
“I want the Jungle Book!” yelled Jesse. “Jungle Book! Jungle Book!”
“You can watch both with me,” said Annie calmly. “And maybe even The Aristocats too. It’s my favourite.”
“No like cats,” declared Jesse firmly.
“Well, you can go to bed after the Jungle Book,” countered Lori. “And Melody can watch The Aristocats with Annie.”
“Won’t you watch some of The Little Mermaid with me?” pleaded Melody, her blue eyes filling with fresh tears.
“I’ll make a deal with you,” suggested Lori, desperate to restore peace and harmony for Annie’s sake. “Let me go and get changed then I’ll watch twenty minutes of the film with you before I go.”
“Ok,” relented Melody with a reluctant sigh.
In a small dressing room backstage, Jake methodically worked his way through his well-practised vocal warm-up routine. He’d already changed into his stage clothes, opting for his trademark skin tight ripped jeans paired for the night with a soft black shirt. This was Garrett’s big night and he was keen to melt into the background as much as possible.
A gentle knock at the door interrupted his routine. For the briefest of moments, he allowed himself to believe it could be Lori but his hopes were dashed when he heard Riley call out asking if she could come in.
“Door’s open,” he replied before starting the vocal exercise again.
Slowly, the door creaked open and Riley slipped into the room.
“I was getting nervous back there on my own,” she confessed shyly.
“You’ll be fine,” promised Jake warmly. “And you look every inch the rock star.”
“Thanks,” replied the teenager, blushing.
When Maddison had arrived at the theatre at lunchtime, she had cornered Riley, quizzing her on what she was planning on wearing. Neither Jake nor Garrett had given Riley’s stage wardrobe a second thought and realising this, Silver Lake’s domineering tour manager had taken immediate control. Within an hour, Maddison had several new potential outfits delivered to the theatre, had a hairstylist on-site and a makeup artist on the way. Now, his former student stood before him transformed into the tiny rock goddess in the making that she was. Her hair had been expertly cut into a sharper pixie style and the green dye refreshed so that it shone a healthy emerald green to compliment her eyes. She too had opted for a largely black look, choosing skinny ripped jeans and a green and black vest tee. A pair of studded stiletto-heeled boots had added a few inches to her height.
“You look fabulous,” complimented Jake. “Maddison did a great job.”
“Yeah she did,” agreed Riley. “But she scares the crap out of me.”
Laughing, Jake admitted that Maddison had that effect on most folk initially, him included.
“I think poor Garrett is more nervous than we are,” revealed Riley quietly. “I heard him chucking up as I came down the hallway.”
“This is a big challenge for him,” said Jake. “Playing live like this scares the hell out of him. He’s fine when he’s the guest. Just don’t ask him to be the star. I’ve no idea how Jethro talked him into tonight.”
“Jethro’s a sweetheart. Reminds me of my friend’s grandpop.”
“He keeps Maddison in line,” revealed Jake with a conspiratorial wink. “But you never heard that from me.”
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation.
“Ten minutes, Mr Power!” yelled Maddison sharply from the far side of the door, “Get your ass out here!”
“Showtime,” said Jake with a nervous smile. “Let’s do this.”
“Showtime,” repeated Riley quietly.
As he walked towards the stage, Jake could feel his stomach churning with nerves.
“Is she here yet?” he asked Grey, who was already positioned at the side of the stage.
“I haven’t seen her,” replied Silver Lake’s bass player. “But she’ll be here. Trust me.”
“Not got much choice,” sighed Jake, running his hand anxiously through his tousled blonde hair.
“Relax, buddy,” soothed Grey, placing a reassuring hand on Jake’s shoulder. “Just focus on your set.”
Nodding, Jake moved towards the stage. The house lights were dim and he could sense the air of expectation that was hanging over the audience. None of the advertising or press releases had named the support act for the evening. He’d put no merchandise out but speculation had been rife on social media. From his position in the wings, he could see that several of the dedicated Silver Lakers were seated in the front row.
A single beam of light was directed onto the plain black backdrop then slowly the curtain dropped to reveal a simple Jake Power logo.
As the cheers and whistles of the capacity crowd echoed round, Jake walked confidently out on stage and lifted, Katherine, his beloved acoustic guitar from her stand. With the adoration of the audience still ringing out, he began to play the distinctive intro to Silver Lake’s Dragon Song.
Shortly after eight, Lori stepped out of a cab in front of the Gramercy Theater, taking a moment or two to steady herself. Already she was regretting putting on her high heeled boots but, despite her baby bump, dressed in her black leggings and draping low cut tunic, she felt like a rock star’s wife. Carefully, she made her way into the theatre, her access all areas pass smoothing the way. As arranged, Jethro was waiting for her beside the door to the backstage area.
“Cutting it fine, Mz Hyde,” he scolded playfully as he hugged her.
“Jake’s the support act?” gasped Lori as she heard the familiar strains of the acoustic version of Depths.
“Yes, ma’am,” confirmed Jethro, smiling proudly. “He’s nervous as hell but he’s three songs in.�
��
“Does he know I’m coming?”
Jethro nodded as he ushered her into the restricted area. Placing a hand on the small of her back, he said softly, “Choose your moment and your words wisely, Lori.”
Understanding his meaning, Lori smiled. “I will.”
Switching guitar to the borrowed Martin, Jake said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to welcome a hot new talent out on stage now. This young lady has an awesome future ahead of her. Give it up for Miss Riley Johnson!”
Hiding her nerves well, Riley walked smartly out on stage to a warm reception from the New York audience. Someone further back in the auditorium wolf-whistled, causing her cheeks to instantly flush scarlet under her makeup.
“Ready?” checked Jake quietly.
Smiling, Riley nodded.
“Folks, this one will be familiar if you’re a Weigh Station fan,” introduced Jake. “This is Miles From Home.”
Just as she had done during rehearsals in the dragon’s lair, Riley kept her vocals warm and husky, complimenting the slowed down, blues heavy version of the Weigh Station classic. Taking care not to drown her out, Jake kept his playing and his vocal turned down and controlled, allowing his young guest to shine. The audience loved it and, as they sang the final chorus together, many of them were already on their feet cheering.
“Thank you,” said Riley shyly, addressing the largest audience of her life.
“New York, give it up once more for Miss Riley!” roared Jake to be heard over the crowd, his heart swelling with pride at the enthusiastic reception she’d received. “Riley will be back out later on.”
With a wave, the tiny teenage rock goddess strode off stage, her nerves long gone. Still dazzled by the lights, she never noticed that there was someone standing in the shadows in the wings until she walked into them.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“No harm done,” said Lori, keeping her own voice low. “You were amazing out there. Love that song.”
“Thank you,” replied Riley, unaware of who the pregnant woman in front of her was.
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